Category Archives: Music, Bands, Concerts, Tours

My current list of songs I have been obsessively listening to this week come from a band I have only recently discovered, A Place to Bury Strangers.

I found them by accident on iTunes and bought a few songs. I never do that, NEVER. I’m conservative spending money on bands I know I like, so again, I never do that, but I was so taken away by the 30 second samples, I just had to own some of their music.

Their music sounds like the bands I’ve loved since high school. You can hear the influences of Joy Division and Jesus and Mary Chain the most.

I bought Exploding Head and loved it so much I went back and bought several more versions of the song from an EP. Since then I have bought a few more, but Exploding Head is still my favorite. A Place to Bury Strangers – “Exploding Head”

I can get stuck, almost obsessed with, with about 5 to 10 songs at a time for a week or so. I am introduced to, or I re-connect with, music I absolutely love so on many levels, and post them everywhere so I can talk about them. I don’t know why I never thought of posting stuff like that here where I can talk about them all I want.

… Of course just posting music videos from YouTube only represents the music artists top singles instead of what I’m actually listening to. I don’t know what else to use. Any suggestions?

20 YEARS OF RANCID!!!

Rancid – Time Bomb, Rancid – Ruby Soho, Rancid – If I Fall Back Down Again, Rancid “Last One to Die”
I was definitely into Rancid this week! My husband, David, and I went to their 20th anniversary concert in San Francisco at The Warfield! This year is actually our 20th anniversary also and we have been fans from the beginning back when we lived in Berkeley….. but somehow they managed to make it to my, “How in the hell have I never seen them live?” list. No more! The night was nostalgic (David is dealing with vertigo so no moshing), fun (easter eggs for me), and incredible to watch.Transplants (side project for Rancid singer, Tim Armstrong, long-time friend/crew Skinhead Rob, and Blink 182’s Travis Barker) are one of my favorite bands but since I’ve never seen them live, I was hoping for an appearance by Skinhead Rob tonight. 🙂 It was short (just his part in Red Hot Moon & no Transplants song) but he killed it, making it a highlight of the night for me. Really looking forward to the new album and HOPEFULLY a tour. Much more on Transplants (and Travis Barker’s music and album) later.
So, 20 years later and after that show, I’m still crushing on Tim Armstrong. …And with that shallow and not related to music statement, I’m sure I’ve just dropped my legitimacy down a peg or two, and blowing my position on why I can feel dismissed as a music fan being female. All in the very first post of my new topic too. Oh well.

It was also really cool seeing Branden Steineckert playing drums live again. He has been drumming with Rancid since 2006 but before that he was in another one of my all-time favorite bands, The Used before they… oddly… kicked him out. I have only seen him play live with The Used and that was a while ago.
Speaking of The Used, I listen to their first two albums A LOT regardless what week it is, The Used “Taste of Ink”, The Used “Bury Myself Alive” , The Used “I Caught Fire”. When we lived in Ukiah, California “The Taste of Ink” was my anthem! (Sorry AFI, but you had just left and we hated it there). In fact, I was pretty sure the song had to be written about living in Ukiah too, hahaha, of course, you know, until I found out they were from Utah and not Ukiah (lol). Anyway, this favorite makes me happy because I relate to the lyrics and feel I escaped too.

Come join me and support the arts with my newest passion. I have been helping out my dearest friends at The Calendar Guy Productions: James jamescurtbyrum.com and Kristine kristinecumminsdesign.com and I forgot how much I love doing stuff like this! Since I began teaching I’ve always missed working in the music industry so volunteering in this area is extremely fulfilling. I’m hoping this is just the beginning of my involvement with both The Calendar Guy Productions and Napa Valley Arts Council because it has also given me a missing connection to my art and the art of those close to me.

CALL+RESPONSE is a first of its kind feature documentary film that reveals the world’s 27 million dirtiest secrets: there are more slaves today than ever before in human history. CALL+RESPONSE goes deep undercover where slavery is thriving from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2007, Slave Traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.Luminaries on the issue such as Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristof, and many other prominent political and cultural figures offer first hand account of this 21st century trade. Performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli, Five For Fighting, Switchfoot, members of Nickel Creek and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Rocco Deluca move this chilling information into inspiration for stopping it.Music is part of the movement against human slavery. Dr. Cornel West connects the music of the American slave fields to the popular music we listen to today, and offers this connection as a rallying cry for the modern abolitionist movement currently brewing.